


Thirteen Nights

by amybri2002



Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Halloween, M/M, but also at the top of any chapters that the warnings apply to, but also halloween fun, if there are any warnings later i'll stick them here, like there's gonna be some angst in this so prepare for that
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-19
Updated: 2018-11-01
Packaged: 2019-08-04 11:23:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 13
Words: 14,770
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16345775
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/amybri2002/pseuds/amybri2002
Summary: The Haunted House is back in town.When Roman finds the boy of his dreams in the Haunted House, he makes it his goal to find him. But when the stranger disappears every time they lock eyes, and strange things begin to happen around the house, will Roman manage to talk to this guy before his thirteen nights are over?





	1. Friday 19th October 2018

**Author's Note:**

> hey y'all! 
> 
> this is a halloween fic, 'cause that's a thing. i'm gonna update this every night on the lead up to halloween, so there will eventually be thirteen chapters. do i have time for this? no. am i going to do it anyway? yes. 
> 
> i hope y'all enjoy~

"Patton, I need your help."

Roman slammed his lunch tray down onto the table, causing his friend to jump slightly in surprise. He sat down opposite to Patton, who had perked up at Roman's speech.

"What's wrong?" Patton asked, a concerned look across his face.

"There's this guy-"

The look of concern immediately faded, to be replaced by an excited grin. "What's his name?"

Roman sighed. "I don't know." He began to pick at his pasta.

"Does he go to this school?"

"I don't know."

"Oh." Patton drummed his finger on the top of the table. "So... what happened?"

Roman smirked, and began to tell Patton the story from earlier that day.

_He strolled down the street,_ For Forever _from the_ Dear Evan Hansen _soundtrack blasting in his ears, when out the corner of his eye he saw a ghost. A white figure under a tree, hovering just about the ground. When he looked back, he realised that it wasn't an actual ghost - just a decoration. A Halloween decoration._

That's early, _Roman thought to himself, until he realised why the decoration was there. The Haunted House! His town always did a haunted house for the last thirteen nights of October, meaning..._

_Was it really that time already? It must have been. The house was already decorated. And just in front of the door stood a teenage boy, around the same age as Roman, hooking something up to the dark wood._

_The boy turned around, and Roman's heart immediately stopped pumping. It was as if time had frozen, to allow this single moment to last a lifetime. Purple locks fell over the strangers eyes, so that only one eye was visible. Black eyeliner was smudged around his eyelids, with a dash of red mixed in with the darkness._

_The stranger stuffed his hands in the pockets of his black hoodie decorated with purple plaid patches, and looked to his left. Roman still stared, gaped, watched as he turned his head towards him. The stranger met eyes with Roman, and his heart continued beating, pushing him out of that single moment._

_One blink, and then he was gone._

"He just... disappared," Roman finished.

Patton hummed. "So you've never seen this guy before?"

Roman shook his head. "No! At least... I don't think so."

"If he went to this school," Patton said, fiddling with the sleeve of the cardigan wrapped around his shoulders, "you would probably recognise him pretty easily."

"I know!" Roman sighed, again. "But I _can't_."

"Do you want to meet this guy?"

"Of _course_ I do, Pat, that's the whole reason I'm telli-"

"Then we should go the Haunted House tonight."

Roman paused eating for a moment, and whispered, "Why didn't I think of that?"

"If he's anywhere, you'll probably be able to find him there. Assuming he does work there, of course."

"Yeah, yeah, good plan and all..." He put down his fork. "Come round to mine tonight?" 

"Of course."

* * *

Roman slapped down a twenty dollar bill onto the counter. "Two tickets, please."

The women behind the counter stared at the money, a bored expression on her face. She glanced back up at Roman. "The tickers are only a dollar each."

Roman blinked. "And?"

"We don't have enough change for a twenty dollar bill," she stated. 

Patton came up to Roman's side, taking two one dollar bills out of his pocket. "Here," he said, handing them to the woman. 

She frowned at the two boys for a second, her eyes digging into the back of Roman's skull. Roman could feel a light blush coming up to his cheeks in what must have been embarrassment - that was unusual, for him at least. Still, she gave the boys their tickets, and they advanced further in the line. 

"You excited?" Patton asked, attempting to wrap his arm around Roman but having to keep it down by Roman's waist, since he couldn't exactly reach Roman's shoulders, especially with the heeled boots his friend was wearing. 

Roman smirked. "Are you kidding? I love this place!"

"Of course you do, big guy," Patton replied, "but I was actually talking about the boy."

"Oh, yeah, I'm even _more_ excited about that." The shadowy building towered over Roman, the only light coming from a dim streetlamp on the front porch. They were at the front of the queue now, only seconds before they would be ushered in. But the teenager from before was nowhere to be seen. "You think he'll be here?" Roman added, uncertainty.

Patton didn't reply, as the two were pushed through the door, immediately closing behind them and shrouding them in complete darkness. 

Remembering the directions from the year before, Roman walked on down the corridor towards the red light at the end. Everything was eerily silent. Nothing that really scared Roman, though. He had gotten used to it at this point - although, every year they did try to do something different. On the first night, nobody ever knew what to expect. 

Nobody jumped out on him at the first corner, which was... strange. For past years, there had always been somebody around that corner. Whatever. He wasn't there for the jump-scares, anyway. He was there for that boy. 

"Roman?" a voice whispered behind him. 

He turned around, noticing Patton still standing by the corner, his silhouette in front of the blinding red light. 

"You okay, Pat?" 

Patton shook his head. Of course he would - how could Roman be so stupid? Patton _hated_ these things! He had hated it two years ago, and flat out refused to go the year before. He must have only come tonight for Roman. 

"Come here, we'll be fine," Roman said, his voice soft and calm. 

Patton took a step forward, making the floorboard underneath his foot creak. At the sudden sound, he immediately rushed forward, grabbing Roman's hand. Roman tried his best to hold back laughter. 

"Patton, you're fine," he said, squeezing his friend's hand tight. "We'll be out before you know it." 

The two continued making their way through the house, with Patton completely fine. 

Until the first jump-scare. 

A person wearing a mask jumped around from around a corner, causing a high-pitched scream to come from Roman's side. He felt a weight in his hand disappear as his friend ran off into the darkness. When Roman glanced back at the person who had jumped out, they were already gone. 

Sighing, Roman jogged a little to catch up with Patton, but it was too late. Still, he ran the rest of the way. Patton would have made straight for the exit, meaning Roman knew he had to make it out of the house to make sure he was okay. And he almost made it to the exit without a problem, but he stopped, his eyes fixed on the bottom of the stairs. 

A teenage boy sat on the bottom step. _The_ teenage boy. The stranger from earlier. 

But Roman couldn't move. His feet were stuck to the floor, unable to even budge. The boy looked up. Roman tried to speak, but nothing came out. The boy shot up, and ran upstairs. 

As soon as the boy was out of sight, Roman regained his ability to move, his ability to speak. "Hey-" But it was too late. 

The boy had disappeared, again. Tape connected one side of the banister to the other, preventing anybody from going up the stairs. Roman couldn't follow him. 


	2. Saturday 20th October 2018

The door swung upon, and arms immediately wrapped around Roman's waist, enveloping him in a hug. A head leant on his chest, directly over his heart. Roman stumbled back a little on the impact, but quickly regained his balance, hugging Patton back and awkwardly patting him on the back.

"Hey, Pat, uh, good to see you too," Roman said, pulling back.

Patton looked up at Roman, a relieved smile across his face. However, that smile soon faded into a stern frown. "I was worried about you last night."

Roman laughed, nervously. "Yeah, yeah, I'm sorry Pat."

Patton continued to stare at him, that stern look, slightly frightening coming from Patton,  still present on his face.

"Look-" Roman sighed. "I'm really sorry. I tried to find you last night, but I couldn't see you once I made it out of the house, and I assumed that you'd gone straight home, so-"

Patton cut him off by wrapping his arms around his again. "It's okay," he mumbled. "I'm just glad you're safe."

That made Roman laugh, for real this time. "Why wouldn't I be safe?"

"I thought that monster might have killed you."

"That... Patton, that was a person in a costume," Roman pointed out, as Patton pulled away and pushed past Roman, beginning to walk down the street. "It's their job to jump out on people and scare them." Roman followed him.

"Well, that doesn't sound like a very nice job," Patton said.

Roman shrugged. "Someone's gotta do it."

The two continued walking in silence. It had become tradition for the two friends to go down to the local coffee shop every Saturday morning, just before eleven o'clock. When this had started? They couldn't remember. But it had always been an important part of their friendship. Afterwards, they would usually go into town, or to the cinema, or something along those lines. Then they'd return to either one of their houses and hang out, as the best of friends.

Patton took his usual seat in the corner of the coffee shop, by the bookcase, whilst Roman went up to the counter to get their order. Hot chocolate for Patton, as always, and a pumpkin-spiced latte for Roman - it was October, after all. After giving the barista the fee and a generous tip, he took a seat opposite Patton.

"So, did you find the boy?" Patton asked, taking a tip of his hot chocolate.

"I... maybe?" Roman tapped his finger on the table. "I think I saw him. But he wasn't part of the house, I don't think. He was just... sat there. Then he disappeared."

Patton hummed. "Maybe he got scared and ran off."

"Maybe..."

He picked up his cup, and downed a quarter of the coffee, not even caring about the heat.

"I'm going to go again tonight," he decided, "and this time, I'm not going to let him get away."

"Okay, you do that buddy," Patton said, "but I am not coming with you this time."

"That's fine, I can do it alone."

* * *

"One ticket, please," Roman requested, placing a single one dollar note onto the counter.

The woman looked up at him. "Weren't you here last night?"

"I was."

She blinked. "Right." She took the money, and let Roman past.

He walked towards the building, not stopping until he reached the back of the queue. And there he waited, taking one step forward at a time, until he reached the front door. As the man ushered him in, he took a deep breath, preparing himself for what was to come.

It was no different to the night before. People jumped out at him, but he wasn't afraid. At one moment, he almost got caught in some spiderwebs, but managed to get past without too much trouble.

When he reached the stairs, he saw him again. The stranger. Sitting on the same step, in the same position as before. Roman approached him, this time his body allowing him to move, to breath. The stranger hadn't noticed him, yet.

"Hey," he said, quietly. "Are you, um-"

The boy looked up, his eyes widening in fear as he noticed Roman. His big, black eyes, almost the same shade as his eyeshadow, but with white dots covering the darkness, like stars on the night sky. As their eyes met, Roman froze, again.

"You..." The boy's voice was as beautiful as the boy himself. Deep, but... not. Soft, but also rough. Two different voices on top of one another, harmonising, intertwining to create a single sound. "You shouldn't be here."

The boy stood up, and before Roman could even think about following him upstairs, he was gone, leaving Roman alone in corridor. The next thing that Roman knew, he feet had dragged him outside the house, into the background, with the cold wind against his cheek.

Soon enough, Roman found himself in bed, staring up at the ceiling. What had happened? How had the boy just disappeared like that? Why hadn't Roman followed him? What had he meant by _you shouldn't be here_?

What was going on?


	3. Sunday 21th October 2018

**9:17 Patton:** did you find him last night night??

Roman awoke as sunlight flooded into his bedroom. Had he not closed the curtains last night? Or maybe his parents had already come in and opened them for him. Whatever the case, he was... almost surprised that he hadn't awoken sooner. It was already eleven. He would usually wake up at six sharp, go for a run, return home for some breakfast, have a quick shower, and be ready for the day. That all should have ended three hours ago. He supposed he wasn't going to do that today.

Everything in him just wanted to go back to sleep. His muscles rebelled against him, refusing to allow him to move, to get up off his bed and get on with his life. But Patton had messaged him, and he needed to reply. He forced himself to sit up, and grabbed his phone from besides him, sliding the notification and using his thumbprint to unlock his phone to bring him to his messages.

 **11:06 Roman:** Yeah.

Patton almost immediately messaged him back.

 **11:06 Patton:** did you talk to him?!?

Roman hesitated. He had said a few words, and the stranger had replied, but they hadn't really... talked. What the stranger had said was weird, as well. Roman still had no idea what he meant by it. And then he had disappeared before Roman could reply.

 **11:07 Roman:** Kind of?

 **11:07 Patton:** what do you mean

Roman drummed his finger on the back of his phone. The entire exchange had felt to weird to type out.

 **11:08 Roman:** Can we meet up?

There was a longer pause before Patton replied this time, which wasn't normal. Roman stared at the three dots to indicate that Patton was typing, the thought bubble staring back, mocking him as he waited for his friend to finish the thought. What did Patton need to say that required such a long time to type? But then the text finally came through, it was completely disappointing.

 **11:11 Patton:** no

Roman frowned, and got ready to text back, but another one came through.

 **11:11 Patton:** I'm busy

And then, a moment later, a third text.

 **11:11 Patton:** family stuff. Tomorrow though, at school?

Roman smiled.

 **11:12 Roman:** That's good with me.

He got up out of bed, and moved over to his wardrobe, opening it to find the outfit for the day. He heard his phone beep, but ignored it as he took out a white shirt, red jacket, and dark blue jeans, and made his way out into the corridor towards the bathroom. After getting a quick shower and putting on the clean clothes, he returned to his bedroom, and picked up his phone.

 **11:13 Patton:** are you going baxk tonight?

 **11:13 Patton:** *back

Roman hummed.

 **11:28 Roman:** Yeah, I think so.

* * *

Roman had arrived early this time, meaning he was at the front of the queue. His plan was to make it to the stairs _before_ the stranger, and to sit down and wait for him there. If the past two nights had taught him anything, it was that he would need to get there first, before the stranger could pull of... whatever magic he was planning.

He made it through the house without a problem. A few more jump-scares than the night before, but nothing that Roman couldn't handle. But when he reached the stairs, the boy was already there.

_It's now or never, Roman._

Before the boy could notice Roman, he walked up to bottom step and sat down besides the stranger. For a split second, the world went dark, and Roman felt as if he was spinning, falling, an excruciating pain digging into his head. And then he opened his eyes, and the room was different. Bright. Clean. No monsters, no cobwebs, no fake (or real) blood strewn against the walls.

The stranger had stood up in front of him.

"You shouldn't be here," he said, just like the night before. Except, his voice was different. Not the word two-layered harmony it was before. Just one voice, somewhere in the middle of high and low. Soft, and... scared. "How are you here?"

Roman tried to stand, but he was glued to his seat. "What do you mean?"

"You shouldn't be able to see me," the stranger said. "Nobody else can see me. Why can you see me? _Why are you in this house?!_ "

"I... I don't..."

"You have to go," he decided. "It's not safe here, for you. You can't come back."

"But-"

"Did you not hear me?"

" _Please_ can I just _speak_ to you?" Whilst Roman has wanted that to come out as a polite question, it came out as more of a demand, a scream. The boy stared at him, looking him up and down, before taking a seat on the step next to Roman.

"I'm sorry," he whispered, looking down at the floor. "I just... I don't understand why you are here."

Roman bit hip lip. "And, uh, where exactly is _here_?"

"I don't know." The boy brought his legs up, hugging his knees. "I've been trapped here for... for... I don't know how long." He shook his head. "Nobody else coming through here can see me. Why can you see me?"

Roman frowned. "Nobody else can see you? How does that even make sense?"

"I don't know!" the boy exclaimed. "All I know, is that people pass through this house, and none of them notice me. And it's been going on for years. But then _you_ noticed me when I was standing outside a couple days ago, and then you came back, and now you're _speaking_ to me, and I don't understand what's going on."

"Are you, like, a ghost, or something?" Roman questioned, trying his best to make some sort of sense out of the whole situation.

"No!" The boy sighed. "At least, I don't think so. I'm pretty sure I've never died." He looked over at Roman. "All I know is one day I'm going about my life as normal, and the next I'm trapped in this _fucking_ house, and I can't _do anything_."

"Woah, language."

"Shut up," he growled.

"Okay, okay, uh..." Roman thought for a moment. "I... There must be a reason that I'm here. And I think that reason is... I think I need to save you."

The boy tilted his head. " _Save_ me?"

"Yeah, save you." Roman smirked. "Clearly, you need help getting out of this place, and I am going to do so."

He snorted. "And how do you plan to do that?"

"I don't know yet," Roman admitted. "But I'll think of something. I still have another ten nights that I can come in here. We can do this."

The boy seemed skeptical, and afraid, but he must have realised that there was nothing to lose. "Okay."

"Do you remember anything from before you got trapped in here?" Roman inquired.

The boy shook his head.

Roman sighed. "Well... can I at least have you're name?"

"It's V-" He stopped, his eyes fixated on Roman's arm.

Roman looked down, his heart stopping as he noticed that he arm... wasn't all there. It was fading. Transparent. And this sensation was quickly moving up Roman's body. He vision began to go blurry.

"We don't have much time," he said. "Come back tomorrow. My name is-"

He awoke the next morning in cold sweat.


	4. Monday 22nd October 2018

When Roman arrived at school the next morning, Patton was nowhere to be found. Not in their usual spot by the tree, not in his spot in the library, not even in registration. Which was weird. Patton almost always arrived at school before Roman, and was _never_ late enough to miss the start of registration. What had happened?

Maybe he was ill. Except, if he was, Roman knew that Patton would text him.

Roman quickly pulled out his phone and checked his messages with Patton. When he found no texts since the morning before, he went on to check every social media that Patton had. Nothing.

He was half tempted to call him, but he couldn't do so in the middle of class, or have time in between lessons. He'd have to do it at lunch, he decided, assuming Patton didn't show up sooner.

"Roman," the teacher called, "phone."

Roman looked up, noticing the teacher standing right in front of him, with her hand held out. He frowned, confused. "Huh?"

"Your phone, Roman," she repeated. "You know it's against school rules to have your phone out in class."

Everybody was staring at him. Nothing that made Roman uncomfortable, but he had to admit that he wasn't used to _those_ kind of stares. Annoyed glances. Snickers. He had never been caught with his phone out before.

"Now."

Roman locked his phone, and placed it in the teacher's hand.

"You can get it back at the end of the day."

"The end of the day?" Roman exclaimed. There goes his plan to call Patton at lunch.

"Yes, you heard me correctly. And it'll be detention if you say anything else."

Roman groaned, and leant back in his chair, folding his arms. This would be fine. He would get it back later, at least. And Patton was probably alright. Probably.

* * *

Roman's eyes lit up as somebody sat down opposite to him. Patton. Back at their usual lunch table, looking as great as ever.

"Patton! You're here!"

Patton laughed. "Yeah, of course I'm here?"

"You weren't here this morning," Roman stated.

"I couldn't get to school 'til second period. I did message you during first, though," he mentioned.

Roman sighed. "I had my phone confiscated in registration."

"Oh." Patton giggled. "Why did you have it out in registration?"

"I was trying to find out what the heck happened to you."

"Aw, do I really matter than much to you?"

Roman rolled his eyes, but a small smile crept onto his face. "Yeah, sure."

"So..." Patton propped his elbows up onto the table, holding his head in his hands. "What happened last night?"

Roman immediately grinned. "I talked to him!"

Patton gasped. "What'd he say?"

"He..."

Roman paused. He wasn't entirely sure if telling Patton about the entire exchange would be a good idea. The stranger was clearly in trouble. Something bad had happened to him, and perhaps he didn't want anybody else to know. Especially when Roman was the only person who could even see him.

"We just chatted. Small talk, mostly," he lied. "But he's even better up close, honestly."

Patton frowned. "What about the night before? It sounded like something had happened."

Taking in a deep breath, Roman nodded. "It... It was weird. I'm not sure what happened, exactly. Honestly, I might have dreamt it."

He hadn't dreamt it. Roman knew that. But he wasn't ready for Patton to know either. He had to get more information first.

Patton hummed. "Did you at least get his name?"

Roman shook his head. "No. Not... not quite. It begins with 'V', though, I think." He was sure that the stranger had begun to introduce his name with a 'V', before he was cut off by Roman beginning to fade away.

"V..." Patton mumbled. "I don't know anyone with a name beginning with 'V'."

"I can't even _think_ of many names beginning with 'V'." Roman sighed. "I mean, there's 'Victor', or..." He stared at the wall behind Patton for a moment. "Nope, that's it."

Patton laughed. "Well, you'll find his name sooner or later, right?"

"Yeah! I'm, uh, I'm meeting him again tonight, at least."

"Call me afterwards to tell me how it goes?"

"Of course."

* * *

"So, can you tell me your name now?" Roman sat down besides the boy, who immediately jumped back in surprise. The world went dark, just like the night before, and Roman felt that same, strange sensation, that horrible pain. It seemed worse than last time.

"You came back," he heard the boy said, after his surroundings had returned to normal. Well, not _normal_ , but not... like that.

"It's nice to meet you, You-Came-Back," Roman replied, sarcastically.

"That... isn't my name."

"Yeah, I know."

He blinked. "Right." He looked down to the floor. "I'm being serious, though. I wasn't expecting you to return."

Roman raised an eyebrow. "Why not?"

"I don't know. I just... thought last night was too good to be true."

"Dude," Roman said, shaking his head in disbelief. "I spend two nights trying to find and speak to you, and then I finally do on the third night but don't even get your name, and you expect me to _not_ come back?" He laughed. "Why wouldn't I want to come back?"

"I don't know, 'cause you thought it was all too weird?" he suggested.

Roman let out a short, sharp laugh. "I do think this is all weird. But that just gives me all the more reason to come back. So, what is your name?" he asked.

"It's Virgil," the boy introduced. "Virgil Sanders."

"And I'm Roman," Roman returned, holding out a hand to shake. "Roman Prince."

Virgil looked down at Roman's hand. "I..."

"Shake it," Roman instructed.

"Oh, right." He tried to grab Roman's hand, but phased right through it. "Uh..."

Roman withdrew. "Close enough." He sighed. "Probably should have seen that coming. Even though you said yourself that you're not a ghost."

"I'm not a ghost."

"Sure you're not, buddy."

"I'm not!"

"Anyway," Roman said, changing the subject, "your name is _Virgil_?"

"Yes, we've gone over that," Virgil said.

"What kind of name is Virgil?"

Virgil shrugged. "The name that my parents decided upon when I was born?"

"That's... yeah."

"And your name is Roman," Virgil stated, "which, really, isn't that much better than Virgil."

"Hey, my name is awesome!"

Virgil smirked. "Sure."

"I cannot save you if you're gonna be like that."

"Be like what?" he asked, acting innocent.

"Like... like..." Roman groaned. "I don't know!"

Virgil held his hand up in an 'okay' gesture. "Great explanation there, A plus."

"God, this is getting us _nowhere_." Roman stood up, and walked a few steps away from the stairs, looking up at a picture on the wall. A painting of an old man, wrinkles and all, wearing a locket with the letter 'V'. Probably one of the people who used to live in this house. Although, Roman was sure that this picture wasn't hung up in the usual set up for the haunted house. And nobody else lived here, anyway. The house had been abandoned for decades. 

Virgil joined Roman at his side. "His name was Virgil, too," he said. "He used to live here, lived here his whole life. I read his diary when I was bored one time."

Roman hummed. "And you have the same name."

"Yeah. I did think that was strange." He shrugged. "But that doesn't really matter. I just want to get _out_ this hellhole."

"And you're _sure_ you're not a ghost?" 

"For the last time, I'm not a ghost!" 

Roman spun around and leant against the wall. "If I'm gonna rescue you..." He tapped his foot on the ground, listening to his footsteps echo around the corridor. Some people ran by, ghostly figures. He assumed they were visitors in the haunted house. But they couldn't see him. 

"Are you going to finish that thought?" Virgil asked. 

"No." Roman looked down the hallway, watching the group of people exist. "Can you not just... walk out? Like everybody else?" 

"I've tried," Virgil said. "Every time I try to leave the house, I just end up back inside. The furthest I've gotten is on the porch, but even then I just... end up here." 

"Is that why I saw you by the front door, then? And why you just disappeared?"

"Yes."

 Virgil sat down on the floor. Roman joined him, sliding down the wall as he went. 

"Honestly, I've tried everything. I just can't get out." He looked down at Roman's arm, and his shoulders dropped. "You're fading again."

"What-" Roman lifted his hand up, noticing that he was, indeed, fading. "I'll come back tomorrow."

"Promise?"

"Promise."

When Roman woke up, it was still dark outside. He picked up his phone off his bedside table. 4:13. Patton was probably asleep. Sighing, he turned back, burying his face into his pillow and trying his best to fall back asleep. 


	5. Tuesday 23rd October 2018

A loud beeping noise woke Roman up. Groaning, he buried his face deeper into his pillow, wishing for the noise to just stop. It didn't, of course. He turned over in his bed, and grabbed his phone, turning the alarm off. Still half-asleep, he sat up in his bed, and unlocked his phone, going to check his messages and social media. Nothing of importance. Why was he so tired this morning?

Oh. It all came back to him. Last night, what had happened with Virgil, waking up at four in the morning, not getting the... _He never got the chance to call Patton._

He quickly dialled Patton's number, and held the phone up to his ear, waiting for him to pick up. He had to call Patton. At this point, he was sure that Patton would be awake as well, so it'd probably be fine.

Except, it just went straight to voicemail.

Sighing, Roman put his phone to the side, and got out of bed, going to get ready for school. He would try calling Patton again on his way to school. Or just talk to him there. Eventually Patton would find out about Virgil, at least.

That was another thing. Roman knew the strangers name now. He could try to find out what happened to him. A quick Google search once he arrived back home should do the trick, he though. Maybe he'd be able to find him on old social medias, or something. If something really bad had actually happened to Virgil, Roman may be able to even find a news story on him.

As he exited the front door, Roman pulled out his phone, and dialled Patton's number again. Voicemail. Great. He was about to put the phone back in his pocket, when he noticed a message from Patton. That... Well, at least he knew Patton was alive.

**7:34 Patton:** not coming into school today. I'm ill. See you tomorrow tho, you can tell me all about V then!

Roman smiled. He quickly typed out a response.

**7:49 Roman:** Get well soon buddy!

A moment later, he received a reply.

**7:49 Patton:** thanks :)

Roman put his phone back in his pocket, and continued his journey to school. He could tell Patton about Virgil tomorrow. Everything would be fine.

* * *

Roman tapped his foot on the ground impatiently as he waited for his computer to load. It shouldn't be taking this long, should it? It felt as if the universe was mocking him, holding the information right in front of him but not allowing him to find the answers he so desperately needs, he so desperately wants. 

Or maybe he was just being dramatic. A moment later, his desktop loaded up, and he was able to open up Chrome and search 'Virgil Sanders'.

Several news stories popped up. Frowning, Roman clicked on the top result, skimming over the text.

**_Virgil Sanders reported missing._ **

_Virgil's parents were devastated when they realised that their only son had disappeared. He left the house on_ _the 19th October, aged thirteen, and has not returned home since. He was last seen on the corner of Baker Street._

That was where the haunted house was.

_Authorities say that they are searching hard, but it does not appear that they will find him any time soon. His mother is also searching. In an interview, she expressed that all she wants is for her 'boy to come home safe'._

_"Please, Virgil, if you're seeing this," she said to our reporters, "come home. We love you."_

Roman leant back in his chair, staring at the article. A picture of a younger Virgil was just underneath the woman's statement. He looked happier than he did in the house. Smiling and full of life. And his parents were looking for him. They wanted him back. Roman couldn't even begin to imagine what it must have felt like for them.

He glanced at the time-stamp for when the article was posted. 2014. Virgil had been missing for four years.

* * *

"Virgil!" Roman exclaimed, taking a seat on the step next to him and ignoring the weird sensation and terrible pain. "Boy, have I got news for you!"

Virgil looked over at Roman, a glimmer of hope in his eyes. _That_ was refreshing to see. "What is it? What did you find?"

Roman grinned. "I researched you online. Found your old Facebook account, that was kinda weird. Too bad you didn't have an Instagram, would have _loved_ to see some more pictures of you from that time-"

"Yeah, just get to the point."

"Okay, okay." Roman took a deep breath. "You went missing four years ago."

Virgil frowned. "I... what?"

"Apparently when you were thirteen, you just... disappeared," he explained. "I read a few articles. Nobody had any idea where you went. I have a feeling that your parents may still be looking for you."

"My... parents." He looked down to the floor. "I went missing," he whispered, "and ended up here..."

He froze. He started shivering. Roman could swear he saw tears forming in the corners of Virgil's eyes.

"Virgil, are you-"

"I'm fine," he interrupted. "I just... remembered something."

Roman's eyes widened. "What is it? Did something happen? Do you know why you're here?"

Virgil shook his head. "I... I can't..."

"You... You can't, what?"

"I just..."

Virgil disappeared. Roman found himself back in the haunted house, sitting on the bottom step, with groups of people passing by. A couple people noticed him, stared at him as they walked by, confused. He glanced to his side, then all around him, but Virgil still wasn't there.

What had happened?

Shaking a little himself, for some reason, Roman stood up, and joined the crowd, walking out of the house and back to his safe and warm bed.


	6. Wednesday 24th October 2018

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i'm a day late but i was busy yesterday, so sorry 'bout that ^^ todays chapter will be released later tho, don't worry :) hope you enjoy~

Patton was sat in their usual spot under the tree. Roman let out a sigh of relief. He was there. He was okay. He was _there_!

An excited grin growing on his face, Roman rushed over to the tree, and sat down on the ground next to him. Patton gave him a wave, small but sincere. He looked happy. And not ill, at all. Which Roman did find kind of weird, since you don't really recover from an illness overnight, but he wasn't going to complain. His best friend was right there, and Roman had so much that he needed to tell him.

"So," Patton asked, in a drawn-out, sing-song voice, "how did it go with V?"

Roman smiled. "He's amazing, truly. I got his full name, as well!" Patton gestured for him to continue. "He's called Virgil."

"That's a pretty name," Patton said.

"A pretty name for a pretty boy," Roman agreed. "But! That's not all!" He took a deep breath. "The entire situation is kind of... strange, actually."

Patton frowned. "What do you mean?"

"I mean..." He sat there for a moment, thinking. He didn't think it would be a great idea to just come out and say what was actually going on, in case it freaked Patton out too much. But he could probably give him _some_ information, right? "I found some stuff out about him, and it's all so strange."

Patton tilted his head. "Why? What happened?"

"Well, firstly, I should mention that he had some sort of amnesia, I think. Like, he doesn't remember anything from before a couple years ago," he stated.

"Oh no!"

"Yeah, it's all very sad." Roman bit his lip. "But, I did some digging online and found some stuff that you _will not believe._ "

"What?"

"When he was thirteen, he went missing," Roman told Patton. "Just disappeared, like that. And he had no idea about it. Until I told him, of course, last night."

Patton blinked. "How... How come nobody's found him?"

Roman shrugged. "I don't know." He did know, of course. It was because he was trapped in that house. And besides, even if anybody did find him, would they recognise him? Would they even know that he had gone missing? Roman hadn't heard a _thing_ about it when it had happened, and he _lived_ in that town!

Patton hummed. "What was his surname?"

"Sanders," Roman replied.

His eyes widened. "Sanders?" he repeated.

"Yeah, Virgil Sanders, why?"

Patton breathed in and out. "My neighbours surname is Sanders," he stated. "They used to have a son called Virgil."

* * *

Roman ran up to the stairs to search for Virgil. He _needed_ to tell him what he had found out. Virgil needed to know that his parents were still around, and that Roman had an easy way to contact them. He needed Virgil to know that they had a chance to save him!

Of course, they still needed to figure out how to actually get Virgil out of the house, but at least Virgil would know he had a place to go to once he left! And Roman could also inform the parents about Virgil, so that they would worry no longer. It was a win/win situation. If only Roman could _find Virgil to tell him._

Virgil wasn't on the stairs. That didn't sit right with Roman. On every previous night, Virgil had sat in that exact same spot. Why wouldn't he be here now?

Roman stepped onto the stairs, immediately feeling himself being tugged into the other world. The room was completely empty. Even the other visitors in the haunted house had seemingly disappeared. As had the tape preventing Roman from walking up the stairs.

Taking in a deep breath, he ventured further up into the house and down the corridor upstairs, looking around at the paintings of old men lining the wall and the various, unlabelled white doors. Behind one of them, Roman heard muffled crying. Virgil.

He gently knocked on the door.

"Roman?" he heard somebody call from the other side. That was definitely Virgil's voice. Who else would it be?

"Can I come in?" Roman asked, gently.

There was a pause. "No."

Roman stepped back, surprised by his refusal. "I just wanted to-"

"I'm really not in the mood, Roman," Virgil snapped. He sounded angry, but also... tired. And afraid. He needed more than anything to have someone to talk to, Roman knew that.

"Virgil, I really think-"

"Go away."

"I-"

"Go away!"

Roman woke up in the abandoned house, sunlight seeping in through the windows, but Virgil nowhere to be seen.


	7. Thursday 25th October 2018

Patton knocked on his neighbours door.

Roman hadn't shown up to school that day, which didn't sit right with Patton at all. There hadn't been a day that he could remember on which Roman did not show up to school. Never ill, never on holiday. Always with Patton, whenever he could be.

He hadn't picked up any of Patton's calls, either. Which, to be fair, Patton can't have really said anything about, considering the fact that he had ignored Roman's calls before. But he had a reason for that. A reason that Roman would surely understand, if he wanted to know about it. Not that Patton was planning on telling him. Not yet, anyway.

He figured the best thing to do at that point was to help Roman out a bit. Though Patton did suspect that there was more to the story that Roman hadn't told him, he knew one thing for certain - the boy that Roman had found was Virgil Sanders, his neighbours son who had gone missing years ago. They had searched far and wide for the boy, but nothing. And Patton knew how devastated they had been when he disappeared. They had mourned for months, years even, and never let the memory of their son die.

Perhaps the same couldn't be said for Virgil. He let the memory of his parents die. Otherwise he would have come back, right?

A middle-aged woman opened the door.

"Patton?" she said. "I wasn't expected you to come around today."

Patton gave her a warm smile. "Hi Mrs Sanders! I just wanted to say hi. And, um-" He held out a plastic box. "-I made you cookies!"

She smiled back, and took the box. "Thank you, my boy. Do you want to come in for a cup of tea? And we can have a couple of those cookies you made."

"That would be amazing, Mrs Sanders," he replied. "Thank you."

"It's no problem, dear."

She stepped to the side, allowing Patton to enter the house. He followed her through to the living room, where he took a seat on one of the sofas and she left to the kitchen to make them both a cup of tea. This wasn't rare for Patton - he would often visit Mrs Sanders to talk to her, help her out with chores and the like. Her husband had left just over a year ago, and without Virgil, she was the only person living in the house. So Patton would come help her out, keep her company. It was really no problem for him.

Soon enough, she returned with two steaming cups of tea, and handed one to Patton before taking a seat in a sofa across the room. Patton took a sip of his tea.

"So, how's school?" Mrs Sanders asked.

"It's going good," Patton replied.

"Studying hard, I presume?"

"As always."

She smiled. "That's good."

There was silence for a moment as Patton considered how to bring up the conversation about Virgil. He didn't want to upset Mrs Sanders, but suspected that even mentioning Virgil's name would. He couldn't just leave it, though. She deserved to know.

Patton put his tea down on the coffee table. "Actually, Mrs Sanders, there was something that I wanted to tell you about."

"What is it, my boy?"

"It's..." He took a deep breath. "It's about your son, Virgil."

She stopped drinking her tea, and held it just by her mouth for a moment, as if she had frozen in time. Slowly, she placed the cup on the table next to her, and looked back up at Patton, chuckling slightly. "I haven't heard that name in while. What about him?"

Patton hesitated. He didn't think that going straight in with the fact they he had been found would be a good idea. "I was just... curious. What actually happened to him?"

Mrs Sanders hummed. "He ran away. Never came back. We couldn't find him anywhere in this city. And trust me, we tried, we really did. He just... wasn't here."

"Why did he run away?" Patton asked, hoping that wasn't pushing too far.

She thought for a moment. "The night he disappeared, we had... He had helped to cook dinner, I think, and set everything up and everything. My parents had come round for the night. Just a nice family dinner, y'know?"

Patton nodded. "That sounds great."

"It was great." She sighed. "But he... Virgil and I had an argument after dinner. I can't... quite remember what about, but it hit him hard. It hit me hard, as well. And my parents heard the whole thing, and so did his father. They joined in, and backed _me_ up."

Patton stared at her in shock. Virgil would have only been _thirteen_ then. What could have happened that made them argue so much? And why had nobody backed him up?

"What happened next?" he asked.

"The next morning, Virgil had disappeared."

* * *

Roman leant his back against the door, hugging his knees. The house was so quiet that he could hear Virgil's steady breathing on the other side. Roman had been sat there, listening all day. He assumed Virgil had been sleeping, which was fine, considering he probably stayed up all night.

Roman wasn't entirely sure why he hadn't already left the house. The entrance was right there - he could have just got up and went home, never return to Virgil again. But he wasn't in the real world - he was in the other world. He could tell by the pictures on the wall. And he felt as if he needed to be there, as well. To save Virgil. Not just from the house, but from himself.

The breathing stopped.

"Virgil?" Roman called.

Roman could hear his own heartbeat.

"Why are you still here?" Virgil asked.

"I... I just want to help, Virgil."

"You can't help," Virgil replied. He didn't sound angry, this time. Just... sad. "You wouldn't understand, anyway."

Roman laughed. "Try me."

"I know you wouldn't understand."

"Wouldn't understand _what_?"

Virgil took in a deep breath. "Why I'm here. And why I can't- why I shouldn't leave."

Roman frowned. "What-"

"Just _go away_ , Roman."


	8. Friday 26th October 2018

Roman stood up. He couldn't stand this any longer. No matter what he said, Virgil wouldn't listen to him. He couldn't save somebody if they refused to cooperate. Or if they didn't even want his help. He began to walk down to the bottom floor to leave this hellhole. 

But before he reached the bottom of the stairs, he sat down on one of the steps and took his phone out of his pocket. He had several missed calls from Patton, and even more concerned text messages. Sighing, he dialled Patton's number, and held his phone close to his ear.

Patton picked up almost immediately. "Roman!" he exclaimed. "I've been trying to get hold of you for ages!"

Roman chuckled lightly. "Yeah, I... sorry." He took a deep breath, waiting for Patton's response.

"Where have you been?" he asked.

"I'm..." He looked around. This wasn't the haunted house. It wasn't even the abandoned house. It looked just like it would have done back when people actually lived here - everything spotless, all the paintings hanging grandly, the sweet scent of roses coming from deeper in the house. He supposed that somebody _did_ live here - Virgil. "I'm with Virgil."

Patton gasped. "Can I talk to him?"

"No!" Roman shouted, far too harshly. The other end went quiet. He sighed. "I'm- I'm sorry. Virgil's upstairs. I don't think he wants to talk to anybody."

There was a pause. "Why aren't you in school?"

Of course. School. It was already lunchtime - Roman hadn't eaten since Wednesday night. He suddenly became aware of how hungry he actually was.

"I've been with Virgil," Roman said.

"For all of yesterday? And today?"

"...yes," he replied, in a quiet voice.

"What have you been _doing_ for so long?"

Roman didn't know what to say. He felt like he couldn't explain anything without telling Patton the truth. He had no choice but to tell Patton what had really happened to Virgil.

"Look, Pat, I... I'm going to tell you something, and you might not believe me, but you have to at least promise not to freak out," Roman said.

"Okay?" Patton replied in a questioning tone. "Go ahead?"

Roman took a deep breath. "Virgil has been trapped in the old abandoned house where they have the haunted house set up. He's... He's been here since he disappeared, I think. It's weird. He's alive, but not really in... the real world. And he can't leave."

There was an extended period of silence as Patton took that all in. Which was understandable. None of it really made sense, not even to Roman, who had actually experienced travelling between the two worlds. He just hoped that the whole thing wasn't too weird for Patton to process.

"So," Patton began, "he's trapped in the house, and you're there with him?"

Roman let out a sigh of relief. "Yes, exactly."

"Can _you_ leave?" Patton wondered.

"Yeah." He paused. Could he? "I think, anyway."

Patton hummed. "Can we meet up for coffee? Like, now?"

"Aren't you in school?" he asked.

"I don't have any lessons this afternoon. I can probably get away with leaving."

"Okay." Roman stood up, and began to walk out of the house. He stopped at the door, against his own will. Frowning, he took a step forward, but some invisible force pushed him back. He ran towards the exit, but something, the wind maybe, continued to push against him, causing him to fall to the floor with a loud _thud_! He screamed in pain.

"Roman?" Patton said, his voice filled with concern. "Are you okay?"

Roman rubbed the back of his head with his free hand. "I... I can't leave the house."


	9. Saturday 27th October 2018

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> a day late, but i'm here, i'm alive, and hopefully these kiddos are too. sorry for not updating yesterday, i was v busy with halloweeny stuff and a party, but here is yesterdays chapter! hopefully todays chapter will be uploaded later today :) hope y'all enjoy~

Patton glanced over at the line outside the haunted house. It was getting progressively shorter as the night drew closer and closer to midnight. Nobody new was joining the end. It looked like the woman at the counter had already closed up the till. Patton was fine with that. He wasn't planning on actually going through the haunted house, but... he did need a way to get in there. Roman was in trouble, and somebody needed to help him. If that meant breaking into the old abandoned house after everybody else working there had left, then so be it.

Admittedly, Patton did think that this whole situation was wrong. He shouldn't be breaking into this place, no matter what his friend was doing. But he needed time in there, and just going through the haunted house as normal wouldn't give him that time. He needed to explore it, to find Roman, and also... Virgil.

God, Virgil. From what Mrs Sanders has told Patton a couple days ago, that poor kiddo would have a lot of troubling things on his mind. Even with the whole amnesia thing that Roman mentioned, Patton doubted that that boy was all alright. Patton wanted to be there for him. He just hoped that he would be able to find him.

People began to clear out of the house. Finally. The queue by the front door had disappeared, and soon enough people in costumes were taking their exit, leaving the house completely empty. Apart from Roman and Virgil. He glanced up at the window, noticing a boy standing there. Maybe that was Roman. Or Virgil. Patton couldn't tell in the darkness.

He waited for a few minutes more whilst people continued to clear out, and then another few minutes to make sure the coast was completely clear. Then, he climbed out of the bush he had hidden himself in and approached the house, going round to the back door where there was less of a chance for people to see him. He reached out for the handle, and pulled the door back, surprised to find that it had been left open.

 _Huh._ This all seemed to easy. Even so, Patton stepped into the hallway, and began to slowly make his way around the house. He looked left and right, searching for any sign of Roman, for any sign of human life at all. But nothing. Nobody was around.

"Roman?" he called out.

* * *

Roman jolted up as he heard somebody call his name. Patton. Patton was here. Patton had come to save him.

A grin growing on his face, he rushed downstairs to the source of the voice. And Patton was there. Right in front of him.

"Patton!" Roman exclaimed, running up towards him and standing directly in front. "I'm so glad to see you!"

Patton continued to look around the room, his eyes shifting all over the place. The look on his face was one of pure confusion.

"Roman?" he called again.

"Yes, I'm- I'm right here-"

Patton walked forward, straight through Roman's body. Taking in a sudden breath, Roman stumbled to the side. He looked down at his partially faded hands. _Oh no._

"Roman?"

Patton couldn't see him. Of course. Roman was... Roman was in the same position as Virgil now. And that was a terrifying thought.

Roman took out his phone and dialled Patton's number. He watched as Patton jumped back in surprise, but took out his phone and whispered, "Roman?" Patton picked up the call. "Hello?"

"Patton, can you hear me?" Roman immediately asked.

Patton frowned. "Yeah?"

"Oh, thank God," Roman replied, letting out a sigh of relief.

"Where are you?" Patton asked.

"I'm with you," Roman replied. "In the house. You... You can't see me. But you're standing a few metres away from me."

"I don't understand," he said.

"Neither do I," Roman reassured him, "but it's true. Why... Why did you come here?"

"To save you," Patton stated.

"Of course." Roman smiled. "Thank you, for that."

"It's... fine. But, seriously, what is going on?"

Roman hesitated. How could he make it so that Patton could see him? He had always been able to see Virgil, so why couldn't Patton see him now? Maybe... Maybe Patton needed to be on the same plane as Roman. He needed to come to this world. But how?

The stairs. Roman had always managed to travel between the worlds by stepping on the stairs. Sure, it was a long shot, but it was worth a try, right?

"Go stand on the stairs," Roman instructed.

"What-"

"Just trust me," Roman replied.

"Okay."

* * *

Still holding his phone close to his ear, Patton approached the stairs, placing one foot on the bottom step.

"Go on," Roman whispered encouragingly into his ear, "you can do it."

Patton brought his other foot up, and immediately felt a surge of pain rushing through his body. His vision went blurry, and his world went dark. The pain wouldn't leave. A high pitch ringing noise caused him to hold his hands over his ears and shut his eyes tight.

He felt the floor rocking backwards and forwards under his feet, and then heard his body crashing against the floor. He couldn't see, he couldn't breath, he couldn't think.

Something had grabbed his shoulders, digging into his skin, shaking him, screaming his name.

He opened his eyes. Roman was there. Patton took in a deep breath.

"Are you okay?" Roman asked, his voice filled with concern.

Patton nodded. "Y-Yeah, why wouldn't I be?"

"You were unconscious for five hours."


	10. Sunday 28th October 2018

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is a day late but here is yesterday's chapter! today's chapter will be out soon, gonna start writing that once this is up :) 
> 
> **TRIGGER WARNING: this chapter contains a scene that includes homophobia and a character running away from home due to said homophobia, and an implied panic attack in that same scene. if any of this will affect you, please skip out the section in italics. feel free to leave a comment if you'd like to know what happens in that scene and i can provide a brief summary for you ^^**

Virgil's eyes fluttered open as sunlight crept into his room. Groaning, his covered his eyes, and turned over on the floor, trying to force his body to go back to sleep. Eternal nothingness would be better than whatever the hell his life had turned out to be. But, of course, sleep wasn't that easy. It had been hard enough to get himself to sleep the night before, especially with the consistent screams from all the visitors at the haunted house and Roman's shouting later on.

Seriously, why hadn't that guy left already? Was it not clear that Virgil didn't want him here? All Roman was doing was _bothering_ him! With his constant worrying, annoyingly angelic and calming voice, gorgeous face-

"Stop," Virgil whispered to himself, "that's what got you here in the first place."

He shifted onto his back and stared up at the ceiling. That chandelier could have fallen on top of him anytime, and glass would shatter all across the room, and Virgil would probably die. Huge design flaw there. Why would you put a chandelier in such a small room? And why was Virgil paying so much attention to it? Cautiously, he pushed himself to the side of the room, so that he wasn't directly under the chandelier.

The rest of the room was completely empty, and caked with dust. Virgil had no idea why he had chosen _this_ room out of everything else. All of the other rooms were perfectly furnished, no dust in sight, comfy beds, no stupid chandeliers that could snap off the ceiling and impale whoever was unfortunate enough to be underneath. But no, he had chosen the room with no bed to sleep in, and had felt too committed to move somewhere else.

The floor wasn't too uncomfortable, at least. Virgil could deal it.

He could hear people talking downstairs. That was unusual. The only other person in the house was Roman, right? Unless some workers had come in to change the decorations. The haunted house would still be open for a few more nights. But Virgil hadn't heard the door open, so it couldn't be a worker.

His heart beginning to race, Virgil got up off the floor, and ventured out of his room for the first time in days. He crept up to the top of the stairs, and looked down, seeing Roman standing over... a boy. Another teenager, he thought. Somebody he didn't recognise. And who should not be able to see him, but there he was, staring straight at Virgil.

Virgil sighed and looked over to Roman. "Who the fuck is this?"

Roman let out a nervous laugh. "Uh, hey, Verge-"

"Don't 'Hey, Verge' me," Virgil snapped. "Who is this random stranger in my house?"

"I'm-"

"Shush, Pat." Roman glanced at the stranger - Pat, Virgil assumed - and then back up at Virgil. "Virgil, Patton. Patton, Virgil."

'Patton' gave Virgil a small wave. "Hey! Roman's told me a lot about you!"

"He's..." Virgil shook his head. "What?"

"Yeah, you're, like, the only thing he talks about anymore." Patton laughed. "You're kinda a big deal right now."

Roman was blushing furiously. He cleared his throat. "What Patton _means_ to say, is-"

"Yeah, yeah, whatever." Virgil rolled his eyes, trying not to blush himself. Roman talked about him to people? And then blushed when he was exposed? Did that... no. No, he wouldn't. "Just tell me who the hell this 'Patton' guy is."

"He's my friend," Roman explained. "He, um, he came to help out."

Virgil raised an eyebrow. "With what?" He began to make his way to the bottom of the stairs, where the two were sitting.

"With you!" Patton exclaimed, grinning. "We're gonna get you out of here!"

Virgil breathed in. "I... I don't think that's possible."

"Anything's possible!" Patton gave him a warm smile. "Besides, I know a certain somebody who can't wait for you to return home," he added with a smirk.

Virgil frowned. He took a seat on the steps just above the two of them. "Who would want to see me?"

Patton blinked. "Your... parents? They've been looking for you? Did- Did Roman not tell you?"

 _No_. Virgil breathed out. _No, my parents would not want to see me. I'm doing them a_ favour _by staying out here._

"I did say that you're parents were probably still looking for you," Roman said after an extended period of silence.

"Well, mum, actually," Patton corrected. "Your dad, um, he..."

"He left?" Virgil guessed.

"Yeah. That. I'm... sorry." He gave Virgil a sympathetic smile.

"Don't be sorry," Virgil said, waving him off. "He wasn't that great, anyway."

Roman frowned. "What is that supposed to mean?"

Virgil's eyes widened. He had said too much. They would know now. They would ask about that night, and he'd have to tell them, and they'd both hate him forever. All because he was stupid enough to come out of that room, when he _knew_ that Roman was still in the house. _Stupid._

"It- It doesn't matter," Virgil quickly said.

"It does matter," Roman said, in that soothing, calm voice that Virgil had stupidly fallen for. "Whatever happened, you can tell us."

Virgil shook his head. "No. No, really, nothing bad happened, trust me."

"Virgil, I know this probably isn't the time," Roman said, "but you're a really bad liar.

Letting out a sigh, Virgil closed his eyes. "I just... It's all in the past. It doesn't matter anymore. Whatever happened in my old life... I've changed as a person, y'know? I'm better now. And, back then..." He shuddered. "I just don't want to think about it. Maybe... it's best if I just stay here."

There was silence. All Virgil could see was darkness, with his eyes shut tight. But he felt a cold hand rest on his shoulder, and peaked with one eye open.

"Virgil," Roman said, staring directly into his eyes, "why did you run away from home?"

* * *

 _The 19th of October, 2014. His grandparents had come round for Sunday dinner, as they did every week. Virgil had been thirteen at the time, and just beginning to understand himself, to get a hold of his own identity._ _Maybe he should have thought harder about it. Maybe he should have gave himself more time. Except, he couldn't have been more certain. He knew who he was, what he was. No matter what anybody said about it._

_"So, Virgil, how's school going?" his grandfather had asked. The two of them had sat down at the dining table whilst they waited for the rest of the family to be ready to eat. The full moon was already bright in the night sky._

_"Good," Virgil replied, almost instinctively. He had learned that it was easier to just say that things were going well, rather than going into all of his trouble. Nobody wanted to hear all that._

_"Got yourself a girlfriend yet?"_

_Virgil felt his stomach drop. The very thought of getting a girlfriend was terrifying to him. He had no idea why his grandfather had to bring it up every single time his visited. He was half-tempted to just say 'yes' so that he would stop asking, but... that would just complicate things further._

_"No," Virgil said. The rest of the family had begun to pile in. His father took his seat at the head of the table, with his mother on the other end, and his grandmother besides his grandfather. They began to eat._

_His grandfather laughed. "When I was your age, I was all over the girls."_

_Virgil faked a smile. "Well, things have changed now, Grandfather."_

_"I'm sure they had, son." He shook his head, sighing. "But once day, you'll get yourself a nice wife and family, and you'll understand it all."_

_"I'm never getting a wife," Virgil said, without thinking. Immediately after, he realised what he had said, and cursed himself._ Goddamnit, Virgil!

_"Don't put yourself down like that, my boy," his father chimed in. "I'm sure you'll find a wonderful woman one day to be your bride."_

_"No, I- I mean..." He took a deep breath. He was already too far down. He might as well have gone all the way. His family would be fine with it, right? They had never said anything to imply differently. "I don't want a wife."_

_His father just laughed. "One day you'll change your mind, son."_

_Virgil shook his head. "No," he snapped. "I know that I won't change my mind."_

_"Virgil! Don't speak to your father like that!" his mother scolded._

_Everybody else stared at him, expecting him to say something, anything. An apology, perhaps. Or an explanation. He simply took in a deep breath, and said, "I'm gay."_

_The silence after that lasted far too long. Virgil wanted more than anything to leave. To go and lock himself in his room, if only to give himself a minute to let his heart calm down. But the next second, his grandfather was shouting at him, but Virgil wasn't listening, because the pounding in his chest was too loud for him to hear anything else. And he could feel the room closing in on him, and he couldn't move, and his breathing had stopped._

_And then more shouting from everybody else, and people standing up and moving around him._   _Al_ _l Virgil saw was blurry figures. That was all he could make out behind the tears streaming from his eyes._

_Someone grabbed his wrists, and the next second his was in the kitchen, and a woman was there, also shouting, but he could only make out certain words._

_"What did you... why... gay... not... lie... sorry."_

_Virgil tried to get away, but her grip was too strong. He couldn't speak. Her voice was too loud. The voices from the other room were even louder._ _The grip on his wrist loosened, and the door closed._

 _"Virgil, are you_ listening _to me?" his mother asked, her voice a lot quieter._

_He slowly nodded._

_"Then go apologise to them! You've clearly upset your grandfather, and your dad, and-"_

_"Why-" He breathed in. "What did I do?"_

_"Tell them the truth, Virgil!"_

_"I did!"_

_There was silence. People were still shouting in the other room._

_"Go up to bed," his mother said. "We'll discuss this in the morning."_

_"I just-"_

_"Virgil."_

_He left, tearing his way through the crowd in the living room, trying hard to remain unseen. But his father was there by the stairs, and he grabbed Virgil, and was saying something but Virgil couldn't make anything out, and the next moment he was on the floor, and his father had gone. Trying hard to regain his breath, Virgil stood up, and left the house, thankful for the cold wind against his face as he ran, down the street and never to be seen again._

* * *

Arms wrapped around Virgil. He imagined that he was probably crying.

"Shush," Roman whispered. "It's okay. You don't have to go back."

Virgil bit his lip. "I do, though. You both said that my mother was waiting for me."

Roman shook his head. "No, Virgil, no. I- We wouldn't make you go back there if you didn't want to." He pulled away, placing his hands on Virgil's shoulder. "We're going to get you out of here. And you're going to be safe."

"And- And you guys don't-"

"I'd be a huge hypocrite if I said that I didn't support you," Roman said. "As would he."

Virgil wiped the tears away from his eyes. "You mean-"

"Yes. I do."

Virgil smiled. "So you guys-"

"Yes, Virgil," Patton chimed in, "you're safe with us."


	11. Monday 29th October 2018

Patton was able to leave the house without a problem - Virgil had managed to send him back to the real world. He supposed that the same could be done for Roman, but Roman had elected to stay with Virgil. That was fair enough. Patton had things to do, anyway - after school, of course.

The first of those things was to speak to Virgil's mum. After hearing the story, Patton had lost all respect for that woman, and he doubted that he'd be helping her out anymore. Especially when he was queer himself, and she clearly wouldn't be okay with that once Patton inevitably let it slip. It was easier to just cut her out of his life, or at least try to make her change her mind.

She loved Virgil. Patton knew she did. She had worked so hard to try and find him, spent many nights mourning the loss of her son. Patton wondered if she regretted that night. She _had_ been pretty reluctant to talk about it. And Patton still had hope.

That didn't mean that Virgil had to go back. Patton could understand how he might have felt about the whole thing, and he didn't want him to suffer anymore.

Maybe it wasn't such a great idea to go to her. Maybe it would just make the whole situation worse. But Patton was already standing outside the door, and she had already answered.

"Hello, Patton," she greeted. "Back so soon?"

Patton nodded in greeting, instead of giving his signature smile. "Good afternoon, Mrs Sanders." The longer he stared at her, the worse the pain in his chest felt. For such a lovely woman, Patton could hardly believe Virgil's tale. But he knew it had to be true. "I just... came to talk."

She frowned. "About what?"

"Well-"

"Come on in, will you?" she invited, stepping to the side. "I'll make us a cup of tea."

"It's fine, Mrs Sanders," Patton replied. "I just want to talk."

She seemed taken aback by that, and didn't reply for a couple seconds. "Please, Patton, I insist."

"It really won't be necessary." It really pained Patton to be this rude to a woman who he had been so close too over the past year, but... if she had been that rude to Virgil, there was nothing wrong with doing the same to her.

She sighed. "Alright. What do you want to tell me?"

Patton paused, considering his next words carefully. He didn't want to outright say that he had found Virgil, because she'd just want him to bring Virgil 'home', and Patton didn't know if that would be safe for him. And he felt like he couldn't just come straight out and tell her that he was pan, because if she reacted anywhere near how she had reacted to Virgil...

"Theoretically speaking," Patton said, "if I told you something about myself that _you_ didn't personally agree with, or thought... or thought was bad, what would happen?"

She hummed. "That's... a very unusual question, Patton."

"Yeah, I know." He stared at her. "But I want to know your response."

"Well... I guess my opinion of you wouldn't change. You're a nice lad," she said. "I don't see why anything should change that."

He could already feel anger boiling up inside him. "So, you would love me all the same?"

"Of course," she replied. "You're like a son to me, Patton. And a mother should love her son unconditionally."

"Would you feel the same about Virgil?" Patton asked.

Her expression filled with shock. Patton could tell she wasn't expecting that, at all. The look on her face almost made him laugh.

"Yes, of course I would," she finally said.

Patton shook his head. "You're lying."

Her mouth gaped wide open. "How _dare_ you accuse me of-"

"It's true," he interrupted. "The night he ran away, he tried to tell you something, but you didn't listen. You argued with him. And it didn't go well. He ran away, and he's never coming back."

"Where is all this coming from?"

Patton sighed. "Look. I'm... You're great, and all, but I don't think I can come 'round here anymore." He shrugged. "Maybe if you had just listened to Virgil, he wouldn't have left. That's all I'm saying."

He began to walk back down the garden too the street, leaving Mrs Sanders standing in the doorway.

"Oh, and by the way," he added, spinning on his heel to face her, "I'm pansexual. And now I'm never going to see you again. So, goodbye."

Patton walked back home.

* * *

Virgil rested his head on Roman's shoulder. The three of them had slept in the haunted house the night before, and Patton had left in the morning. Virgil and Roman had stayed in Virgil's room all day, sitting together in a comfortable silence. 

Smiling, Roman turned to Virgil. "Are you okay?" he asked. 

Virgil chuckled. "Well, I'm not crying, and my heartrate it at it's normal speed, so I think so."

"I'm gonna get you out of here," Roman promised, "and you're gonna be safe."

He looked down at the floor. "Yeah. Even though I'd have nowhere to go, since all my family hate me."

Roman took Virgil's hand, and gripped it tight. But gentle, as well. Not so tight that it would hurt. "You have me," he said. "My family will _love_ you."

Virgil frowned. "You mean...?"

A smirk growing on his face, Roman lifted up Virgil's hand, and pressed his lips on the top. "Yes, Virgil. I mean, you are welcome to come live with me."

"And you're parents won't mind?"

"I'm sure my mums will welcome you as well."

"'Mums'?" Virgil repeated

"Mums, plural," Roman confirmed.

Virgil let out a short breath of air in some sort of laugh. "Well, I guess that eradicates all my fears."

Roman laughed. "And besides, if you can't stay at mine, you always have Patton as well."

"Well, if Patton's also an option, I guess I'll go-"

Roman interrupted by letting out an offended gasp. 

"Of course I'd rather stay with you," Virgil quickly corrected. He laughed. "I've always preferred to stay with you." 

He looked up at Roman. Their eyes locked. A few seconds later, so did their lips. 

Roman woke back up in his own bed, in his own home. 


	12. Tuesday 30th October 2018

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so this chapter is really short and i'm super sorry about that, but tomorrow's chapter is gonna be long. i hope y'all enjoy this at least~

Roman laid in his bed, staring up at the ceiling. His alarm had gone off a few minutes ago, but he wasn't planning on getting up. After spending so long trapped in that house... His parents had probably already told school that he wouldn't be in. Especially since he had been missing for five days. He probably should have gone to say hello to his parents, but he couldn't bring himself to move off his bed.

His stomach growled. Right, he hadn't really eaten anything, either. Other than a little snack he had found in his pocket a couple days ago, which really wasn't enough. That was yet another reason why he probably should have gotten out of bed, but there he was. Just lying there.

The previous day had been weird, but in a good way. Virgil felt the same way about him. _They had kissed!_ But they hadn't even spoken to one another after.

He had to go back to the house. He only had two more nights before the haunted house shut, and he _needed_ to save Virgil before that time was up. The only question was _how_. How was he supposed to get Virgil out of there? He couldn't even get _himself_ out - he had to rely on Virgil's help.

...maybe that was it. Maybe Virgil needed to help save himself.

Roman grabbed his phone off his bedside table, and loaded up Google. He typed in, _ghost-like boy trapped in abandoned house_. He didn't really expect anything that would be of use to him - why would there be anything? It all seemed too strange. Like, none of this should have ever have happened. It wasn't natural. Sometimes, Roman wondered if the past week and a half had all been a dream.

It couldn't have been. It had felt too real to be a dream.

He scrolled down the suggested websites a little. It was mostly just various horror stories, none of which Roman was participants interested in reading. However, one article did stand out to him.

 **_I_ ** **_FOUND A GHOST?!_ **

_none of you are going to believe me as i type this, but i think i found a ghost? i broke into an old abandoned house around the corner from where i live, and found a teenage girl there. she wasn't dead, but not exactly alive either. apparently she had ran away from home and was trapped inside the house. do any of you have any ideas on this?_

Roman frowned, and scrolled down to read the comments. An awful lot saying they had just been dreaming. A couple saying that they were just making it up for attention. But there was one comment that could have helped them out:

_Save her. I've been in that situation, and it didn't end well. You have until the end of the thirteenth night. Go to her, talk to her, and, above all, make sure that she is happy. Only then can you both be saved._

The end of the thirteenth night. That was tomorrow.

* * *

Virgil continued to stare out the window. It didn't look like Roman was coming. Maybe the kiss had scared him off. Maybe he didn't actually feel the same way as Virgil.

"Please, Roman," he whispered. "Come back."


	13. Wednesday 31st October 2018

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oh boy here we are at the last chapter. are they gonna survive? maybe idk guess we'll find out. 
> 
> i would have had this out yesterday but halloween was a thing and i ran out of writing time, but here we are, so i hope y'all enjoy!

Just past three in the morning. Roman had gone back to sleep at midday, and woken up at midnight. He hadn't left his room since waking up after the kiss. That probably wasn't too good for his health. His mums still didn't know that he was back home, and he still hadn't eaten anything. But he had been too tired to even attempt to get up. Food was important, sure, but so was sleeping. It was too bad that he couldn't trick himself into sleeping more.

The only thing on his mind was Virgil. Today, the 31st of October, was the last day that Roman had in the house. It was also the last day that Roman had to save Virgil - the thirteenth night after meeting him. So he _had_ to go tonight, and he _had_ to save him. Save both of them, or whatever that post had said.

Sighing, Roman kicked his legs out from under the covers, and stood up off his bed, beginning to make his way downstairs. He assumed that his parents would be sleeping, so going downstairs wouldn't be a problem. Besides, he needed food, and lots of it. As soon as he reached the kitchen, he raided the cupboards, taking out whatever took his fancy. Bread, meat, cheese, whatever he could find. He made a quick sandwich for himself and began to snack on it, before going to turn on the stove.

Pasta. Pasta would be good. Smirking, he took a bag of pasta from the kitchen counter, and poured it into a pan. Whilst he waited for the pasta to cook, he jumped up into the counter, and continued to eat his sandwich, immediately feeling better.

Footsteps echoed through the house. Somebody was walking down the stairs. Of course.

His ma entered the kitchen. Roman gave her a nervous wave. She just looked confused.

"Roman," she said, "why are you cooking pasta at three in the morning?"

He shrugged. "I was hungry?"

"You haven't been in the house for ages," she said.

"Correction, I was in the house yesterday," he corrected.

She frowned. "Then how come I didn't see you?"

"I was in my room," Roman replied.

She sighed, and gave him a small smile, before making her way across the kitchen to where Roman was sat. After turning around and putting two hands on the counter, she lifted herself up so that she was sitting next to room. She wrapped her arm around Roman, and pulled him closer.

"Are you alright, Roman?" she whispered.

"Yes, Ma, I'm-"

"Tell me the truth, Ro-Ro."

He groaned. "No, no I'm not fine."

"What's been troubling you?" his ma inquired.

"I've just... a lot has happened recently. I don't think you'd believe me if I told you," he said. "But there's something that I need to do, and I don't have long to do it."

She hummed. "Is there any way I can help?"

Roman shook his head. "No, I don't think so." He glanced over at the stove. "Unless you wanna help me finish off the pasta."

"Roman, it's three in the morning, you really shouldn't-"

"I haven't eaten in ages," he interrupted. "I think I can get away with eating a little bit of pasta."

She giggled. "Okay, Ro. You go get the sauce ready. Three-in-morning-pasta it is."

* * *

Virgil flicked through the pages in the old diary he had found. He had read it so many times, but always felt as if he had been missing something. Something _important_. Something that might help save him.

Roman might never come back. He knew that was a fact. Sure, there was a possibility, but Virgil was doubtful. Besides, even if he did come back, would Roman be able to save him? Probably not. He wouldn't know how. Virgil had to take charge of his own destiny if he really wanted to be free. And now that he actually remembered his old life...

If he did manage to save himself, at least he could go and punch Roman in the face for abandoning him at the last minute. Unless he showed up that night, of course. In which case, that punch would he replaced with a kiss, probably. If Roman felt that way. Virgil still didn't know.

As he flicked through, he paused, noticing a piece of paper float to the floor. Frowning, he closed the book, and leant down, picking the paper up. Most of the handwriting had smudged and was illegible, but there was one sentence he could make out perfectly:

_Once you are happy and they know it, you will both be free._

* * *

Roman knocked on Patton's door. He tapped his foot impatiently on the ground whilst he waited for a response, but nothing happened. He was about to leave, when the door opened.

"Patton!" he exclaimed. "Finally!"

Patton frowned. "You knocked like thirty seconds ago?"

"Yeah, yeah, whatever, you have to come with me."

"I thought you were still with Virgil?" Patton recalled.

"I'm going there now," he proclaimed. "Come on, we don't have much time!"

"What-"

"I'll tell you on the way," Roman decided, already dragging Patton out the door and down the road. Patton didn't protest, at least. "Basically," he continued, "I only have tonight to save Virgil, otherwise he might die or something."

"What?" Patton shouted, hurt in his voice.

"It's okay, I'm going to save him," Roman reassured him.

"What do you _mean_ he might die?"

"I don't know, I read something online," Roman quickly said. "But even so, I need to get to the house and find Virgil so that I can _save_ him."

Patton nodded. "Okay. You can do this."

Roman smiled. "Yes, yes I can."

They reached the haunted house, and Roman got in queue. Patton had decided to stay outside the house and keep watch, just in case they needed any help. He didn't want to go inside the house, though. Which was fine. Roman wasn't expecting him too.

As soon as Roman entered, he rushed through the house, ignoring all the actors attempting to scare him. He reached the stairs, and found Virgil sitting there. He immediately went to sit next to him.

Virgil looked up. "Roman?" His voice was distant. As if he was in another room. But he was right next to Roman, so surely...

"Virgil, I'm here," Roman said, quietly.

Virgil shook his head. "No, you haven't-" Not only distant, but echo-y. Roman couldn't hear the rest of the sentence.

His heartbeat began to increase. "Virgil?"

Virgil's mouth moved, but no words came out. Roman grabbed his hand - that worked, at least. But they were both... fading. Virgil was already transparent.

A blinding light filled Roman's eyes. He had to let go of Virgil's hand to cover his own eyes. The next thing he knew, the room was completely dark. Just a black box, nothing more.

Virgil sat somewhere off in the corner, his head buried in his knees. With his dark clothing, Roman could barely distinguish him from the walls. But he knew that he was there. Roman began to make his way towards him, tearing through the darkness, but he didn't move at all. Virgil looked up.

"Verge?" Roman called. "Are you okay?"

All Roman could see was fear in Virgil's eyes. He wasn't okay - he didn't even have to say anything for Roman to understand that.

"Virgil, I need you to stay calm," Roman said, beginning to crouch down so that they were on the same level, even if they were still far apart. "We're going to get you out of here."

Virgil wasn't calm. Roman could see him shaking. Tears had began to fall down his cheeks. Perhaps he was in pain. Maybe that had been Roman's fault. If Roman hadn't talked to him in the first place, they wouldn't have been in this situation. He had been perfectly fine before Roman showed up - it was only after they had met that the countdown to Virgil's ultimate demise has begun. Roman... It was all Roman's...

 _No,_ Roman told himself. _It's not your fault. You are here to save him._ He had no idea where the previous thoughts had come from. Although, by the look of Virgil, he wouldn't have been surprised if it was due to the place he was in. The weird purgatory they were trapped in. A transfer between the world they lived in and the world beyond. They needed to get out of there, and fast.

"Listen, Virgil," Roman said, quietly, very quietly. "We need to get out of here. We need to get back home."

"I-" Virgil stopped. He was trying to speak. Roman knew he was trying. And he could imagine what Virgil was trying to say: _I can't._

"You can," Roman reassured him. "I promise that you can get back home."

He shook his head, his shaking increasing.

"Not back _there_ ," Roman promised, knowing that Virgil wouldn't have wanted to go back to where he lived before. _Roman_ wouldn't have wanted Virgil to go back there. "A new home. Your _real_ home."

The shaking had stopped. That was good, Roman thought. But the fear was still present. And Virgil still couldn't speak.

"It will be safe there," Roman continued. "I'll be there, by your side every step of the way."

The room around them changed. For a moment, another flash of blinding light, but then as it faded down, Roman realised where he was. His room. And Virgil was sat on his bed. The tears had stopped.

But looking around, this wasn't Roman's room, at all. Everything seemed a little too bright, or fuzzy, or slightly out-of-place. He could hear his mums talking downstairs, but their voices were muffled, echoed, the words not quite making any sense.

Roman could walk again. He approached Virgil, and held out his hand. Virgil took it. Without thinking too much about what he was doing, he dragged Virgil up and took his downstairs, following a tugging in his chest. He had to show Virgil something, for some reason. Once they arrived in the dining room, Roman understood why. They were sat at the table. Not themselves personally, but a perfect copy.

Roman understood. "This is what we could have," he whispered to Virgil, who had tightened his grip on Roman's hand. "We could be a family. Me and you. You would be safe here." He looked over at Virgil, watching the corner of his lip tug up.

But Virgil pulled away, and the vision faded to black. They were back in the dark room, but Virgil was standing now, with his back to Roman.

"Virgil, do you... do you trust me?" Roman asked.

A long silence settled between them, which seemed to last forever. Roman held his breath, waiting for a response. Anything would've been fine. Just a single word so that he knew that Virgil was still with him.

"Yes," Virgil finally said, speaking barely above a whisper.

"Then let's go," Roman replied. "Let's leave this place and be free."

Virgil turned around. Roman reached out his hand.

"I love you, Virgil."

Their hands connected. The next thing they knew, they were lying on the floor of the haunted house, with a group of college students standing around them. Visitors to the haunted house, Roman assumed, making sure that they were okay. And they could see Virgil.

"Are you two okay?" one of them - the oldest - asked.

Roman nodded. "Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine." He sat up and looked over at Virgil, still lying on the floor. "Verge?"

Virgil sat up after him, a smile across his face. A real, happy smile. "I'm great."

The group still looked concerned, but after Roman reassured them again and again that they were both fine, they moved on. Roman turned back to Virgil, smiling. They were safe. Virgil was back in the real world, no longer trapped in the house. He would be able to leave and live out the rest of his life, and Roman could be besides him every step of the way. He was... They were  _both_ truly happy. 

"So, how does it feel to be saved by Prince Roman?"

"You not a prince and you know it," Virgil replied, beginning to stand up.

"How do you know?" Roman asked.

"If you were a prince, you wouldn't be living in this dump of a city," Virgil explained. Roman stood up as well, and the two made their way out of the house.

"You have a good point."

As soon as they stepped back outside, they were enveloped in a hug from Patton. "You made it!" he exclaimed. The two smiled, and hugged back.

Once they pulled apart, Virgil looked over at Roman. "So, uh, what happens now?"

Roman hummed, planted a quick kiss on Virgil's lips, and said, "Home?"

Virgil grinned. "Home."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> aaaaaa it's over :') 
> 
> thank you all so much for reading!!! i love seeing all your comments on this and stuff (and as y'all know i try my best to reply to them and will continue to do that even tho this is over). thank you all for coming on this ride with me, and thank god these two survived honestly i was getting worried writing this chapter haha. 
> 
> i probably still left a couple things unanswered but oh well i'll leave that up to y'all interpretations, feel free to ask tho if you need anything clearing up, chances are i have an answer but never got around to including it. 
> 
> one last time, thank you all for reading, and goodnight (it's five pm why am i saying goodnight)


End file.
